Pandora's Reaper
by STARSONGPAPA
Summary: Substitute soul reaper Ichigo Kurosaki was supposed to be sealed away by soul society for 100 years but because of forces beyond all control Ichigo ends up on Pandora. How will our favourite strawberry cope when his life is quite literally destroyed? Fic is set after Borderlands 2. M for bad language and general Borderlands styled hi-jynx.
1. Strawberry sealed.

**AN: This is takes place after the events of Borderlands 2 and (Waaay after) the fight between Aizen and Ichigo. So needless to say this will be AU territory.**

**I don't know how long this fic will last but I hope to at least make a good few chapters.**

**On**** another note I am thinking of re-writing The Daddy Dragon and am putting The Hollowed Titan and Legend of the Dragon Kin up for adoption.**

**Anyways**** let's start my new fic.**

Soul Society: 10 days after Aizen's defeat.

Ichigo Kurosaki had been cooped up in Muken covered from head to toe in spiritual pressure suppression/consuming seals and cuffs for close to 10 days, why you ask? well maybe some context is needed.

Just as Ichigo was about to use the final getsuga tensho Aizen had began to convulse and his body began to disintegrate into dust, why? Well it turned out that the Hogyoku didn't like being subjugated and had rejected Aizen as it's master, it had weakened Aizen to the point that his own crushing spiritual pressure poisoned and crushed him, but Ichigo was unaware of this, all Ichigo knew was that Aizen had died in the most terrifying way possible, having your own body be reduced to dust and being alive to watch it happen.

Ichigo watched in horror as Aizen faded from existence all the while cursing the marble in his chest and on top of that he swore he could hear a child like laugh taunting the would be god before everything went silent, the hogyuku floated in mid air before flying into Ichigo's chest, Ichigo's body felt like the fires of hell burned in his chest then he went numb... Ichigo's world faded to black as he fell face first on the floor.

The next thing Ichigo knew he was sat infront of what he assumed was central 46 bound to a chair and wrapped in black bandages, he could hear them murmuring to them selves, Ichigo let out a pained groan gaining the attention of those present within the room, "Finally you're awake ryoka boy" Said the head of central 46.

"What happened? Why am I here?" Ichigo asked confused and disorientated.

Central 46 once again murmured between themselves once again, Ichigo heard some members say 'Execute him' but some said that he deserved some lenience, but before he could get more context the head member spoke "You are here because we have deemed you to be too powerful and a treat to the status quo of the soul society, we have half a mind to have you executed to prevent a future uprising, however, we have spoken to the captain's and they have convinced us to take a less extreme approach, consider yourself lucky you have friends in high places".

Ichigo looked up a burning rage within his eyes but decided to keep his mouth shut, for once shouting his mouth off was not an option, this was a delicate situation and needed to be handled with care, so with a sigh Ichigo spoke calmly "I see, can I at least know how and why you came to this decision?" Ichigo asked.

With a short nod the head of central 46 explained the reason behind his incarceration, "To be blunt with you Kurosaki the soul society has been keeping a very close eye on you and in turn so have we, we watched your bout with Aizen and it's conclusion. The Hoguoku has merged with you and that is of great concern to us. While your behaviour is erraric and based on your own personal ideals you have always fought for the betterment of Soul Society and for that we are greatful but the potential threat you now pose is greater than Aizen could ever hope to achieve, that is why you are here".

Ichigo listened carefully while taking in the information, he honestly didn't know if he should be offended or not so that was put into the back of his mind but now Ichigo had another question, "If that's the case what are you going to do to me?".

After another bout of murmuring Central 46 went silent "That is up to you Kurosaki, the captain's may have convinced us not to execute you however we may still be convinced otherwise, personally for all it's worth I'd rather not have the blood of a hero on our hands so your fate will be determined by your words so choose wisely, Kurosaki, are you our enemy?" He asked in a booming voice.

Ichigo went silent for a moment, he really had to chose his words carefully now, he knew he had no intention of becoming an ememy but the slightest slip of his tongue will convince them that he is, when everyone thought he wouldn't respond Ichigo spoke up, "No I'm not an enemy, even though I have no real obligation to the Soul Society I do feel loyalty to it and it's people. Before I became a Soul Reaper I had no purpose, no goal in mind, I was just an angry teen-ager fighting his was through school but then Rukia came along and changed my world and I can't thank her enough for putting her life on the line for me, for my family and when she was taken away I had to save her, maybe that wasn't my best decision but in the end it all worked out" Ichigo answered honestly and ended with a small laugh before continuing "After thay as I got to know the everyone better I found myself thinking of Soul Society as a second home, even if it doesn't seem that I do, I really respect everyone here, they are my friends and even if I know that they don't need me too I'd protect them in a heart beat... I know it sounds cheesy cliché but that's my god honest truth". Ichigo concluded with a sad smile.

Central 46 were forced into stunned silence, never before had they heard such a heartfelt confession of respect and loyalty from anyone, even their most Loyal captains haven't spoken so passionately about the Soul Society but this boy a mere baby conpared to them had welcomed the Soul Society into his heart flaws and all, when they were about to respond Ichigo spoke again, "My name is Ichigo Kurosaki, my name means 'One guardian' the name was given to me by my mother who died saving my life, in her memory and with these powers I strive to live up to the name that was blessed onto me and should I ever forsake it I shall burn in hell for all eternity!" Ichigo shouted out and was panting by the end.

Ichigo was met with even more silence until clapps could be heard behind him, Ichigo turned his head to see Yamamoto, Retsu Unohana, Byakuya Kuchiki, Sajin Komomura, Shunsui Kyoroku, Toshiro Histsugaya, Jushiro Ukitake, Kisuke Urahara, Youruichi Shihoin, Renji Abari, Rukia Kuchiki and Hanataro Yamada standing there giving him a standing ovation with a mixture of expressions, sadness, pride and confliction being the major main players, this went on for a few seconds before the head of Central 46 demanded silence.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, your words have determined your fate. As promised we will not execute you but rather seal you away..." Shocked gasps filled the air, no one had expected this outcome, they had expected Ichigo to have his powers removed and then safely returned to the world of the living, this was not what they wanted but before they could protest silence was ordered, "You will be sealed away and hidden in the world of the living for 100 years after that your human life will have ended and you'll be permitted to live in the soul society full time".

Ichigo stared in horror at the judgement that had befallen him, he could have accepted exile, hell even outright banishment to Hueco Mundo but having his life robbed of him was close to murder, what was he to do? No, what about his family? His friends? What will happen to them, this can't happen but before he could respond the binding around him tightened and covered his entire body silencing him.

This is where we Find Ichigo now, Laying on a thin matress in Muken awaiting to be sealed away like a threat, even though Ichigo was thankful for not being outright executed via the Sogyoku still didn't dampen the slight feeling of betrayal he felt deep in his heart but alas his thoughts were cut short by his cell door opening and captain Soifon enterig the room, "Get up Kurosaki, it's time" Soifon said emotionlessly.

Ichigo stood up slowly and walked to Soifon with his head held high, we wasn't going to show weakness not now, Ichigo looked Soifon straight in the eyes and spoke resolutely "Bring it on".

Soifon's emotionless mask faded and she actually let out a small laugh, a small genuine friendly laugh that lasted a good five seconds "Tough to the end Kurosaki, I dare say I'm going to miss you" Soifon said in a uncharacteristically soft tone.

Ichigo smiled at her warmly and nodded "I'll miss you too captain Soifon".

Soifon snorted but retained her smile "You never bothered with manners before so don't start now, I like the rude Kurosaki better".

"Thank you" Was all Ichigo said as he was led away to Sogyoku hill.

When they arrived Ichigo saw all the captians and lieutenants as well his other friends within the soul society, his human friends, Kisuke, Yoruichi and his father waiting for him, Ichigo smiled at them and waved, their expressions were sorrowful and it broke his heart but over the course of ten days Ichigo had convinced himself that being sealed was for the best and had hoped that they thought so too but it was hopeless as Orihime with tears flowing like a river ran and hugged Ichigo with crushing force, second by second Ichigo's will was crumbling, with an equal amount of force Ichigo returned Orihime's hug as tears began to flow from his eyes.

"Ichigo please don't go" Orihime cried.

"I'm sorry Orihime but this is for the best" Ichigo reponded sadly.

"NO IT'S NOT! How could you say that?" Orihime yelled in sorrow.

Ichigo gave a sad smile and hugged her tighter "We'll see eachother again Orihime, when I'm unsealed you'll be here and we can catch up okay? So please don't cry".

Orihime with tears still running down her facr silently nodded and backed away letting the others talk to him. An hour passed as everyone gave their own parting words and condolences the last person to speak to Ichigo was his father Isshin Kurosaki who approached him with the typical Isshin smile, "Don't look so sad son 100 years to a soul reaper is nothing, it'll pass before you know it" Isshin said with faux optimism that Ichigo never caught on to.

"Yeah I know just look after Karin and Yuzu okay Goat chin" Ichigo said with a smile.

Isshin nodded as he bought Ichigo into a bone crushing hug then backed away as Kisuke and Yoruichi approached him with sad smiles, "By the order of central 46 I'll be sealing you Ichigo, I hope you can forgive me". Kisuke said with tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

Ichigo gently smiled and bought Kisuke in for a hug, "There's nothing to forgive Kisuke after all I can't be mad at family, uncle".

Kisuke's eyes widened comically before the tears fell from his eyes and he returned the hug "Uncle Kisuke, that sounds nice Ichigo thank you".

Ichigo then looked towards Yoruichi who already had tears streaming down her ebony cheeks, "Please don't cry Youruichi I hate to see my motherly figure so sad" Ichigo said quietly but loud enough for her to hear.

Yoruichi let out a sob and hugged Ichigo tight "I didn't know you felt that way about me" She cried.

"I do... Can I say something, please?" Ichigo asked quietly.

"Anything" Yoruichi replied.

"Can I call you mum, just this once?" Ichigo asked in a rare moment of shyness.

Yoruichi cried tears of happiness and hugged Ichigo harder "Of course you can".

"Thank you mum" Ichigo said happily and hugged Yoruichi tight.

After a few minutes the tears and goodbyes ended, Ichigo stood up tall and with a sigh he nodded to Kisuke "I'm ready".

Kisuke nodded and placed his palm on Ichigo's chest "The kido I'm going to use on you was meant to be used on Aizen if defeating him became impossible, it is for the sole purpose of sealing away transcendent beings such as yourself, it is indestructible so no one can accidentally break it and kill you, also during the past few days I took the liberty of implanting special kido that will bestow upon you soul reaper knowledge while you are sealed away so by the time you are released you will be a fully educated soul reaper with knowlege taken from the academy curriculum and from the underground archive, you'll be captain material when you're unsealed and we'll welcome you back with a party to end all parties" Kisuke explained briefly.

Ichigo silently nodded as Kisuke began the sealing, Ichigo at this point broke down unable to keep his emotions in check, "Thank you all, thank you for everything, I may not say this enough but you all are very good friends and I love you all as family, I..." Ichigo was cut off as the Kido finished sealing him away.

The seal resembled a 3D snowflake with spikes on top of spikes jutting out in every direction and his zanpakuto not being completely encased stuck out like the legendary Excalibur from the old english sword in the stone legend.

Sadness filled the air as Ichigo was carted away by the kido corps to the world of the living where Ichigo would spend his sentence, little did anyone know that they would never see eachother again as forces beyond all control would force them apart forever.

For eighty years Ichigo lived in permanent darkness, the only company he had was the kido that fed information into his brain, Ichigo was somewhat aware of the world around him, he knew that occasionally he'd have a visitor but never knew who it was, he was aware of the animals that traveled near to inspect his tomb, Ichigo was also aware of the humans that ventured close to him but they never got close, however one day it just stopped, nothing visited him anymore and Ichigo felt lonely, this went on for a furthur ten years before his seal was rattled greatly and he felt a great force send him flying.

The feeling of inertia seemed to last for an eternity before he felt himself crash then nothing, Ichigo once again slipped into peaceful oblivion, completely unaware of the world around him had changed.


	2. The Pandora Prologue

So... You want to read a fanfic eh?

One about a Siren, a little devil and a reaper? Haha, have I got a fic for you!

Pandora...

This is our home. But make no mistake, this is not a planet of peace and love. They say it is a wasteland, that it's dangerous here, that only a fool would search for anything of value here. Well I guess we are all fools.

But do not be fooled by what Pandora appears to be. There is a Legend... Some say a legend even greater than the Vault. Many people tell it... The legend of the reaper of Pandora.

Some say he was a mad man with delusions of grandeur, others say he was a god in human form descended from the heavens to lead Pandora into a golden age, but me?

I believe he was just like you and I, a lost soul trying to make it in a backwards world. To me he was a man who would take fate and punch it in the face. Haha, this is his story.

Sanctuary: One month after the death of Handsome Jack.

It had been a tough month for the people of Sanctuary after a period of mourning their lost leader and friend Roland life went back to normal for the most part, Scooter went back to working on his catch a rides, Moxxii worked at her bar supplying the denizens of sanctuary a well deserved alcoholic beverage at the end of a long day, the vault hunters went back into the vast badlands of Pandora to reclaim land from the bandits and the last of Hyperion's forces.

The one's who did not return to normal was the Siren Lillith and the littlest demolitions expert Tiny Tina, they naturally took Roland's death the hardest, Lillith spent weeks drinking her troubles away and one night in a drunken stupor she became suicidal but after the timely intervention of Mordecai, a load of Brick bear hugs and an ocean of tears she had come to accept the reality even though it still hurt like a bite from a spider ant.

Tiny Tina who decided to stay in Sanctuary refused to believe the reality, she was in denial and often tried to reject reality itself by using her explosives to as she would say "Blow up the bitch face of space time, go back to the past and murderize Jacky boi before he can pussy kill Roland". Well luckily for everyone but unfortunately for her all attempts to blow a hole in space time resulted in failure so after many, many, MANY tries Tina gave up and dived into the world of fantasy with a endless game of Bunkers and Badasses with her newly acquired teddy bear "Roland II".

On the occasional night you would find Lillith joining Tiny Tina for a round or ten of Bn'B but tonight, tonight Lillith had decided that enough was enough, she would take Tina away from her bubble of denial and get her to see the world for what it is. Yes Lillith will attempt the impossible, she will get Tina to talk about her feelings instead of hiding them behind explosions and bandit torture. This is where our story begins.

knock knock*

"Tina? Tina are you in there?" Lillith asked through the door, but there was no response.

Knock knock*

"Tina? Seriously Tina answer me" Lillith said through the door once again. Still no response.

BANG BANG*

"TINA! OPEN THIS DAMMED DOOR BEFORE I BLAST IT OPEN!" Lillith shouted having lost her cool. Nothing.

"Okay Tina this is your last warning..." Just as Lillith was gathering energy into her palms the door opened with a small click and the door slowly swung open.

Tiny Tina stood in the doorway her bright eyes now dull, her dusty blonde hair lay lifelessly on her head and her clothes have definitely seen better days. To put it simply, Tina looked like hell, "Hey Lils, What'chu want?" Tina said trying and failing to mimic Crazy Earl.

Lillith looked down at Tina's small frame with pitty, she truly felt bad for the girl, it's true that Lillith loved Roland with all of her heart but Tina had been closer to the ex Crimson Lance member than anyone, their relationship was akin to uncle and niece, hell maybe even father and daughter, well whatever the case they were close. "How about we go for a walk?" Lillith asked as she offered her hand.

Tina's eyes seemed to widen slightly as her body visibly tensed, "Walk? Outside? Sorry not sorry Lils but I'm in the middle of a game of Bn'B with Sir Roland II, we're effing up some bitch ass trolls with corrosive rocket launchers in Bn'B".

Lillith would have believed her but a simple glance behind the girl revealed a untidy room with no board game in sight, "Oh really? Then pray tell can you play Bn'B with thin air?" Lillith asked with a cool smirk at the look of dread on the girls face.

In a panic Tiny Tina went to slam the door shut but a well placed foot painfully stopped the metal door from shutting fully "Ah dammit Tina! All I ask is that you just come out for an hour to get some fresh air and maybe grab some food, you look like you haven't eaten in weeks" Lillith spoke gently.

Tina looked up at Lillith with a glare, she was getting mad "Why do you care? WHY DO YOU CARE ABOUT HOW I LIVE MY LIFE?" Tina shouted with tears threatening to fall from her eyes but Lillith couldn't get a word in because Tina screamed into her palms and continued her rant "IF YOU CARED THEN YOU WOULDN'T LIE TO ME! YOU WOULDN'T LIE ABOUT ROLAND NOT COMING BACK! HE'LL BE BACK... He will be back... He promised me he'll never leave me..." Tina finished with a barely audible whisper.

Nothing was said as Tina broke down into uncontrollable sobs and wails of despair, Lillith didn't know what to do or what to say to Tina, how could she even contemplate telling Tina how to live her life? How to mourn the loss of her father figure? But the need to fix a broken heart was overridden by instinct and Lillith quickly swooped down and drew Tina into a tight hug. Despite Tina's cries and struggles Lillith held on strong, she shushed and whispered comforting words to the distraught girl and finally after twenty minutes Tina calmed down considerably only silent whimpers excaped her lips.

"There there Tina it'll all be okay, Roland may be gone but he'll always be right here" Lillith whispered as she put her hand over Tina's heart.

Tina laughed weakly and lightly smacked Lillith arm, "Girl that was cheesier than Bricks socks and trust me girl those bad boys make Skags blow chunks".

The girls shared a short laugh at the bandit kings expense and all was right again, well as right as things can get on Pandora. But that left one problem, Lillith still needed to get Tina away from her self imposed imprisonment, "So Tina, what do you say? Are you up for a trip to Moxxii's for some food?" Lillith asked with care.

Tina nodded excitedly as she escaped Lilllith hug, "And then maybe we can watch the stars?" Tina asked hopefully returning to a child like manner. Well that was easy.

"Of course we can, we'll watch from the top of Moxxii's place, I'm sure she won't mind us climbing her fine establishment" Lillith joked enticing a loud laugh from Tina.

An Ten minutes later at Moxxii's Place.

Lillith and Tina sat in Moxxii's bar conversing with eachother while picking at their food, sure the food at Moxxii's wasn't high quality but it was edible and it kept them alive, on a world like Pandora one could not be picky when it came to nutrition, Lillith recalled a time when Roland, Mordecai, Brick and herself had to eat an Alpha Skag because they ran out of food in the Rust Commons, oh boy was that a mistake but as they say what does not kill you makes you stronger and wiser, it was from that day on Skag had been deemed not safe for human consumption, but it does make you wonder how the Bandits stomach the stuff... Lillith snapped out of memory lane when a ball of Mashed Potato hit her face, "Lils seriously girl you need to snap out of whatever shizzle is goin' through that Siren brain of yours and pay attention" Tina said with a pout.

"Sorry Tina, I was going down memory lane, what was you saying?" Lillith replied with a nostalgic look in her eyes.

Pushing her plate away Tina jumped off their booth and stretched her legs "I'm ready to go Lils, let's climb this crap heap" Tina announced loudly.

The bar patrons did not react to Tina's loud exclamation because they had since gotten used to her unique brand of vocal patterns but a few snickers could be heard in which Lillith was one, "Okay let's go kid. Hey Moxxii put this on my tab!" Lillith shouted to the bar.

"You don't have a tab Lillith" Moxxii shouted back.

"Can I have one?"

"Hell no!"

Lillith and Moxxii began to comically argue with each other from a distance both knowing perfectly well that they can hurt one another quite easily and did not feel like getting into a physical altercation, Tina however was an impatient girl who got bored easily and this boredom was the trigger for some of her best ideas, so with a literal lightbulb flickering over her head Tina took in a huge gasp of air and yelled "Oh em gee guys, ma girl Moxxii is goin' to get her badonkadonks out for happy hour, oh glorious days for mankind!". The effect was immediate and chaotic, the male population of the bar raced towards Moxxii with money in hand, happy hour and a show... win win am I right.

Taking advantage of the chaos Tina grabbed Lillith's hand and ran out the door with juvial laughter of joy, one in which Lillith was all too willing to join in on, things were never dull when Tiny Tina was around that's for sure.

As soon as Lillith and Tina reached the roof they sat down on the edge and looked out into the twilight sky, the stars glistened against deep blue like curtain at a glamour show, it was peaceful and serene, a very rare moment on Pandora, Tina sighed peacefully as she leaned against Lillith, "Hey Lills".

"Yeah Tina".

"How long will this last?".

"The peace?".

"Yeah".

"Probably not long".

"Huh, that sucks".

"It's life".

"Life sucks".

"You have no idea".

After that they fell into comfortable silence, Tina gazed out into space trying to count the stars but one kept making her lose count, one was moving and it was distracting, "Lills, why is that star moving?" Tina asked pointing at the moving star.

Lillith looked up and frowned, that star wasn't there before, surely they would have noticed right? If it was a meteorite Tannis would have spotted it by now and told everyone, a satellite maybe? No, there weren't any in the vacinity accoring to Tannis' last report, "What could it be?" Lillith asked herself.

Tina looked back up at the star and noticed something that she failed to notice before, it was getting closer, this worried her a bit, "It's getting closer". Tina said voicing her concern.

And it was, the star, or whatever it is was indeed getting closer, it was beginning to glow red contrasting greatly to the deep blue night sky, but one thing was blatantly clear it was tiny, it wasnt a threat, "Don't worry Tina it'll harmlessly burn up in the atmosphere" Lillith told her companion.

However it wasn't, it was not breaking apart like it should have, it was holding strong and gaining speed, Lillith and Tina watched in awe as it flew overhead across their vision. It was a sight they had never seen before it was glowing red but behind that glow it was pitch black and there was no debris coming off it but instead was a black fire like substance that dissapated into the air, finally it's presence was almost crushing like it exuded great power.

Their awe was short lived as the meteor crashed over the horizon but not with a huge fireball of destruction but with a black and crimson flash, the ground beneath Sanctuary and the air around it seemed to shake uncontrollably for a few seconds until the flash died down, now everyone in Sanctuary was looking in the direction of the meteor.

Tina visbly shaken trembled in Lilith's grip trying to hold in the fear that had gripped her heart, "Lillith what the heck was that?".

"I don't know" Lillith replied looking at the horizon with a calculating gaze. Just what the hell was that anyway, that was like nothing she had ever seen before. "Come on, let's go and see Tannis, I'm sure she'll have some clue as to what that thing could be".

Lillith grabbed Tina then quickly jumped off the roof, once her feet touched the ground she grabbed Tina's hand and while avoiding the crowd made her way to Tannis' lab at the resistance's headquarters. It did not take long to get there and when they did they found Tannis typing madly on her keyboard.

Tannis was completely oblivious to the two intruders as she muttered long and complicated sentences to herself, a few words that could be picked up on were "Not, meteor, power levels and something about sushi". That last one was strange but then again Tannis was a strange woman.

Lillith tried and failed to get the mad scientist's attention but she was too into her work to notice the Siren so Tina took matters into her own hands and kicked Tannis' ass sending her flying across the room.

"What do you think you're doing you little troglodyte!" Tannis screamed as Rakks flew around her head.

Tina managed a triumphant laugh with her hands placed victoriously on her hips "Now that I have your attention ma'am could you kindly tell me WHAT THE HELL THAT WAS!" Tina yelled in a fake British accent.

"Ah yes, I was considering calling you Lillith but it seems like you used your brain and came to me instead" Tannis said whike dusting herself off.

"Thanks Tannis" Lillth began sarcastically, "Can you tell us what that was?".

"I can't, but I did get some interesting data" Tannis replied.

Lillith sighed in frustration, Tannis was always a difficult person to deal with, "Do you plan on telling us now?".

"No but do me a favour and call the rest of the Vault hunters back, you all need to hear this" Tennis said in a rare serious tone that made you forget that she's clinically insane.

"Right. Tina stay here okay, I'll be back soon".

Tina nodded as Lillith left the room, now standing in awkward silence Tina sat on a chair and awaited Lillith's return.

Meanwhile with Lillith.

"Did you see that?" Lillith said into her Echo communication device. (ECD for future reference).

ooo

"What do you mean see what!? I'm talking about the meteor you dumbass!"

ooo

"You did, good that saves some exposition. Who's with you?"

ooo

"Brick is, that's good. How about the others?".

ooo

"He's calling them now. Good that saves more time".

ooo

"Can you tell him to tell the others that they are needed back in Sanctuary?".

ooo

"Thank you Mordecai".

ooo

"Yes this is unusual".

ooo

"Okay, see you soon bye".

Lillith sighed and hung up, she loved her friends like brother's but sometimes they can be a pain to deal with.

With one last sigh she went back to the lab to await the return of the other Vault hunters via the fast travel network.


	3. The meteorite Mystery

Fifteen miles south east of Sanctuary.

Pandora has many defining characteristics that made it a well known planet within the galaxy such as vast desert wastelands, frozen tundras, volcanic landscapes and the vault. Those features were the reasons why the planet was saught after by thrill seekers, treasure hunters and extreme survivalists; Pandora however was not known for this, Pandora (in modern history at least) was not known for vibrant Jungle's, grasslands and lakes. This sight met the Vault hunters awed looks of disbelief as they remembered the meeting they had with Tannis back at Sanctuary.

Flashback: Sanctuary- Tannis' lab.

It took less than half an hour for the remaining Vault Hunter's to arrive, Brick and Mordecai arrived first, then Salvador, Axton and Zero, after that Maya and Kreig showed up and finally Gaige made an appearance atop of her DeathTrap.

Their greetings to eachother were short and to the point, exept for Kreig whom greeted each Vault Hunter with violent profanity, but deep down he knew how important the meeting was, after all they all had seen the meteor and the strange explosion that had followed after.

They waited for a further five minutes before Tannis made her way to the lab with Lillith and Tina in tow, "Alright, listen up you blathering Neanderthals as I am sure you are all aware a meteor struck Pandora at 1900 hundred hours just over an hour ago south east of Sanctuary's current location, while this is not unusual... meteor showers are quite a common occurrence after all, the mystery comes from its unusual color and tail. You all saw it, it was black surrounded by a black and crimson fire..." Tannis explained but was cut off by Salvador.

"Yeah we know! Can you tell us something new like how to kill it!?" Salvador shouted Impatiently.

Tannis supressed a groan and continued her explanation, ignoring the murderous ramblings of the short Gunzerker, "After the initial impact the usual rampage of local destruction did not seem to occur, according to Lillith and the hell spawn a dome of once again black and crimson energy expanded outwards until it dissipated". Tannis concluded then turned to her computer and began typing on the keypad.

The room fell silent.

The silence lasted for fifteen seconds before Brick spoke up, "Is that it?". He was ignored.

"Yes we all know that Tannis, I'd hoped you had something new" Maya added while crossing her arms. Once again Ignored.

"I'll use your chest like a meat toboggan, I'll play football with your head crazy lady!" Kreig screamed ((Translation: Tell us something we don't know you crazy bitch!)). Definitely ignored.

The other vault hunters began to voice their own disappointment to the mad scientist but they all fell upon deaf ears, they had wasted valuable time for information that they already knew and as they were about to leave Tannis spoke up again "I however have managed to analyse the energy the meteor has been releasing shortly after its impact" Tannis said as she showed everyone the computer screen.

They all looked on at the lines on the monitor with silent anticipation but soon it gave out "I don't get it" Gaige commented with confusion. A load of nods followed.

Tannis let out a long suffering sigh and counted backwards from ten then sighed deeply once more "This is the energy reading from the meteorite and for those who dont understand. Look, look how they fluctuate, if you have visited doctor Zed it should look familliar. Well does it?".

Another round of confused silence filled the room before Tannis screamed into her palms, "For the love of the Eredians listen to this" Tannis snapped as she turned up the speakers and played back the energy readings.

**Ba-dum**

**Ba-dum**

**Ba-dum**

**Ba-dum**

The room was filled with the eerie sound of echoed druns filled the air, the sound chilled the bones of everyone in the room, bar Tannis, "Do you see now, it has been consistently releasing a large amount of energy in the same pattern as a heartbeat".

Multiple eyes widened with stunned realisation, some with excitement and bloodlust but all knew one thing. They are dealing with something powerful.

With a fake cough to gain everyone's attention Tannis shut off her computer and turned towards the gathering of Vault Hunters, "This is a huge scientific discovery and I'll be damned to miss it, so tomorrow myself and whoever volunteers will accompany me to the outer badlands and we'll secure the meteor for transportation" Tannis concluded leaving the floor open for Lillith to start speaking.

"You heard Tannis she will need volunteers to join her, I volunteer myself" Lillith announced.

"Why not? it'll be almost like the old days" Mordecai said.

"You know I'm in, s'long as I can punch the dam thing" Brick shouted excitedly.

"I'll join too, the energy it gives off has me interested" Maya said cooly.

"I'm coming too!" Tina said shocking everyone, "What? If some bitch ass space rock needs some splodin' I'm your girl after all... I'm Tiny Tina Pandora's foremost expert on stuff that goes BOOM!" Tina finished with a V for victory pose.

No one to dared deny or question the demon child known as Tiny Tina, they all knew she'd find a way to join them even if they had said no, so with unsure nods of concent Tina cheered loud and proud, meanwhile Axton, Salvador, Zero and Gaige decided to hang back at Sanctuary to act as back up in case back up was needed.

After the short debate of who does what Tannis regained everyone's attention once more, "Okay now that's over with I'll need you to take this prototype experiment of mine" Tannis said while handing over a small black box to Lillith who eyed the object cautiously.

"What is it?" Lillith asked

Tannis smiled in a way that made Kreig seem sane and that honestly scared the present Vault Hunters, "My dear Lillith that is the result of years of reaserch, trial and error AAAND many many many atomised bandits" Tannis exclaimed triumphantly.

Lillith almost lost control of her bladder at the mad scientist's explanation that did not explain anything at all, after all the words trial, error and atomised should never be said in the same sentence as prototype so after a deep calming breath Lillith looked from the box to Tannis, "What is it Tannis?".

"PFTS, Portable Fast Travel System" Was the only thing Tannis said before she a disappeared into the next room.

"Oookay you heard the crazy bitch we leave tomorrow bright and early" Lillith announced as she left the lab with Tina Tina following behind, Maya shot a nervous glance at Mordecai and Brick before also leaving and it wasn't long before everyone else also vacated the lab.

Back to present time: Meteor crater.

It took a few moments for the Vault Hunter's to get over their awe and continue to press on through the thick jungle, it seemed to go on for miles but with their extremely slow progress it was hard to tell, the only one who seemed to be having any fun was Tannis whom was merrily collecting samples from various plants while humming a jaunty tune and annoying the others.

Mordecai was in a foul mood because of a killer hangover that he had awoken too, the sharp shooting sniper had decided to go to Moxxii's the night before and have a drink... Well a few drinks... Okay he ended up drinking himself under the table, it was a miracle that he was even able to attend this little expedition fortunately Brick managed to drag Mordecai out despite the headache from hell.

Tannis' incessant humming annoyed everyone else but there had been enough exposition, the exploration team traveled for what seems like miles more before coming across the crater, ground zero, and it was breathtaking, sitting in the middle of the deep hole was the meteor but it wasn't rounded like most celestial bodies no, it was like an obsidian snowflake that gave off an aura of power but the most amazing thing was that it was intact with no signs of damage. none at all.

Tannis screamed with glee as she reached into her bag and took out a chisel and hammer, "Oh my Eredian's this is absolutely amazing, this is like nothing I have ever seen before" Tennis awed as she placed the chisel upon the meteor and struck it with the hammer, however a piece did not break off like she had predicted, no, the chisel broke, snapped clean in half.

"What the hell" Lillith whispered, she like everyone else wasn't expecting it to be so tough but of course this shock translated to glee on the face of one certain berserker, Brick with a crazed smirk pushed Tannis out of his way and pulled his fist back and with a roar shot his fist forward making contact with the meteor with a loud echoing thud.

However within a second of impact Brick was sent flying backwards through a couple of tree's, the tree's crashed down on him leaving Brick with dazed expression "Look at the pretty little Rakk's Mordecai, ain't they pretty?".

While the team worked to get Brick out of the pile of tree's Tina walked around the meteor with a twisted sense of curiosity, her thoughts along the lines of 'I'm gonna blow you up'. However something soon caught her eye, something strange, something was poking out of the meteor, a sword handle to be precise, a sword handle that seems to be wrapped in white fabric. Curiosity got the better of her as she swore that she could her whispering

Tina grabbed the fabric then with a gasp that gained the attention of the others Tina fell to her knees gripping her head with a silent scream as her vision went black.

Vision: Tina's Mind.

Tina shielded her face as the darkness suddenly turned to a blinding light that hurt her eyes but after a few seconds of adjustment Tina removed her arms from Infront of her head to find herself standing on the side of a building in a strange city, with thundering clouds hanging above? To the side? honestly she didn't know, her sense of direction had been completely smashed and atomised, but one thing stuck deep into her mind and that was 'I should not be able to stand here'.

Tina looked down to what she assumed was the ground but it was not visible, just how tall? Long was this building?, **'How is this possible'** Tina thought to herself as she slowly laid down against the cold glass window praying to whatever deity who was listening that the gravity did not decide to correct itself.

"What are you doing child?" Asked a deep echoed voice, Tina slowly turned her head to the right and saw a tall middle aged man standing on a pole. His face thin with stubble and sharp eyes gazed down at the teenager with an unreadable expression, "I'll ask you again. What are you doing?" The man repeated.

Tina stayed silent as she looked at the strange man, the way he looked at her with an uncaring gaze unnerved her but his aura of wisdom and power demanded respected so without thinking Tina opened her mouth, "I don't know" Was her simple reply.

The man jumped from his position on the pole and slowly walked towards Tina who grew more nervous with every step he was taking "Get up, you will not fall here child" The man said gently.

Tina cautiously stood up but was still afraid of falling so she gripped onto whatever she could until she felt stable, that thing happened to be the old man's coat. The feel of the material was strange to say the least, it felt as if she was holding nothing, almost like a shadow so with scared eyes she met his gaze and nervously spoke "Where am I?".

The old man looked down at Tina with a blank expression before he turned on his heel and walked away with Tina in tow "You are in a place that is neither dream or reality" Was his cryptic answer.

Tina was confused by his statement, 'neither dream or reality' what did that mean exactly? Where the hell was she? Do the others know that she was missing? Tina hoped that they did, maybe they'd come and rescue her.

The man stopped walking causing Tina to crash into him, he looked down at her once more and put his hand gently on her shoulder, "Tell me what you remember and maybe I can help return home" He said gently.

Tina racked her brain trying to remember just how she got there, but nothing was coming to her so she retraced her footsteps in hopes that she'd find the answer**, **Tina thought long and hard about Sanctuary, the meteor, the meeting at Tannis' lab, the expedition, finding the meteorite then finally seeing a sword sticking out of the space rock and grabbing a ribbon. "That's it!" Tina exclaimed, "I grabbed a ribbon that was attached to a sword that was sticking out of a meteor!"

The old man's eyes widened for a split second before returning to normal, "I see, so you found us?" He said with a thoughtful tone that hid his happiness and excitement.

"Found us?" Tina asked curiously, "What does that mean?".

The old man sighed and looked up to the stormy clouds hanging overhead "What you found wasn't a meteor but a prison, a prison that my dear friend willingly put himself into just to ease the minds of a few narrow minded fools" The old man explained sorrowfully.

"No freaking way! I don't believe it one bit" Tina exclaimed loudly, "There is no way someone is in thar snowflake shaped rock, it's impossible!".

"Believe me it is child, the man sealed within this meteor as you call it was put there after saving his world from a man who wished to become god" He explained.

Tina couldn't believe what she was hearing and didn't know if she should believe the old man or not, she looked at him closely, his words were crazy but his facial expressions and body language spoke truth so Tina decided to bite the bullet and asked a question that has been burning in her mind for the last minute. "How? How did you end up on Pandora?".

"Pandora? So that's the name of the planet that we are on... I'm not sure how long ago it was but something happend to his home and we were sent hurtling through the void of space, that is all i can tell you" The old man explained as best as he could.

Tina looked thoughtful for a second before opening her mouth again but no words came out, so she thought again and once again voiced a question that was burning her mind "Who are you and Who is he? The one trapped in the meteor?".

"My name is Zangetsu and the one sealed within is called Ichigo Kurosaki" The man answered.

"Kurosaki" Tina's eyes widened in shock, how was it possible? How could he... "He shares my name" Tina spoke in confused awe.

Zangetsu omce again looked down at the girl and with a small smile he spoke "What is your name?"

"Tina... Tina Kurosaki".

**AN: I'm ending the chapter here, I hope this was good enough because this is my 15th draft.****I**** had many outcomes drafted for this chapter but in the end I went with Tina being a kurosaki. It will be explained in either the next chapter or the chapter after that.**** Anyway**** I apologise for taking so long and I offer no excuse for my procrastination.****On**** another note, I have decided to give my Daddy Dragon fic up for adoption in hopes that someone will finish it. As a final respect for my fic I'll be posting one last chapter with all I have planned for it up until its end, including why I didn't include Erza in the pairing vote.****Once**** again my apologies.****SSPP**** signing out.**

ps: why is my AN bunching up like this... Strange.


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